{"id":81108,"date":"2017-10-18T16:56:12","date_gmt":"2017-10-18T14:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=81108"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:52","slug":"de-simpelste-remedie-tegen-burn-outs-en-studiestress-ga-hardlopen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/10\/18\/de-simpelste-remedie-tegen-burn-outs-en-studiestress-ga-hardlopen\/","title":{"rendered":"The simplest remedy for burnout and study-related stress? Start running"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Juriena de Vries continues her research at the EUR: why is running working as a therapy against burn-out?<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWillemijn Sneep<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Exercise may be the last thing you consider. Yet organisational psychologist Juriena de Vries has proved that running is a good and relatively cheap therapy to treat fatigue. Why does it work? That\u2019s the question addressed by her follow up research at EUR. She has 4 tips for students.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the students who took part in my research were really unfit,\u201d says Juriena de Vries. \u201cI was appalled. Because to function well mentally, it\u2019s very important to be in a good physical condition.\u201d After completing her PhD research in Nijmegen, since January De Vries has been working at EUR as assistant professor of labour and organisational psychology. Here she wants to continue her research into why exercise has such a positive effect on work and studying and as a remedy for early signs of burnout.<\/p>\n

Feeling better mentally<\/h3>

For many years, De Vries, herself an elite triathlete, had observed that exercising helps people feel better, physically and mentally. \u201cBut strangely, there was very little in scientific literature about sport and burnouts.\u201d When a PhD programme appeared that combined her psychology studies and her sport, she grabbed her chance. \u201cI thought: \u2018This is it.\u2019 How often do you find exactly the research position that you want?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Juriena de Vries performing at the Triathlon National Championships<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarc van der Kort<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

De Vries selected 100 students suffering from study-related stress and 100 staff members with burnout symptoms to test the effects of a six week running therapy programme. These were people who did very little exercise, because \u2018we wanted to study the effects of as big a lifestyle change as possible.\u2019 She mainly selected people suffering fatigue, one of the symptoms of long term stress. Over a period of six weeks, she got half of both groups to run at a gentle pace and subjected all participants to weekly tests to measure fitness, attention span and mental health.<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u201cSomeone who does a gentle run three times a week is less tired, sleeps better and has a longer attention span\u201d\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

She found: anyone who does a gentle run three times a week is less tired, sleeps better and has a longer attention span than someone who doesn\u2019t run at all. After six weeks, the participants also did better in tasks involving concentration and staff members felt more able to do their work. She thus proved that a gentle run can help anyone suffering early signs of burnout.<\/p>\n

The results do not show whether you can really run a serious burnout out of your body. \u201cFrom an ethical point of view, we couldn\u2019t put half of the people suffering a serious burnout in a control group without therapy. They need help now. Furthermore, it might have been too much for them to start running at that moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

\n\t\t

Start running the stress out of your body <\/strong><\/p>\n

4 tips from Juriena de Vries\u2019 research.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Run three times a week, for an hour for example. But remember: don\u2019t overdo it. \u201cExercise can give you energy, but if you do too much, you\u2019ll feel more tired. The best intensity is if you can easily conduct a conversation. Even if you only run 7 or 8 kilometres an hour, that\u2019s fine.\u201d<\/li>\n
  2. Build it up slowly. \u201cStart by alternating running and walking, for example 10 sets of 1 minute running, 2 minutes walking.\u201d<\/li>\n
  3. Take a day off after each session. That gives you time to recover.<\/li>\n
  4. Be careful not to turn it into a competition. It mustn\u2019t provide added pressure. And are you exercising at a high level? Then keep a good balance between rest and relaxation. \u201cDuring a busy research or study period, you sometimes need to go a bit easier on exercise, as I\u2019ve noticed myself.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

    The secret of running<\/h3>

    So what\u2019s the secret? Why does an hour\u2019s run three times a week have a positive effect? \u201cFirstly, all the participants said that they slept better. That\u2019s obviously a very logical explanation,\u201d De Vries begins. But also: \u201cYou distance yourself from your work, you think about something else for a while. You feel fitter and more energetic, which means you have less trouble dealing with problems in your work. And the progress you make in your running gives you self-confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Cheap intervention for EUR<\/h3>

    Students often don\u2019t have time for sport or exercise, as De Vries is aware. And it\u2019s hard to motivate yourself when you feel tired and washed out. \u201cBut it\u2019s worth making time for it. Even if it\u2019s just half an hour, to empty your head and feel fitter.\u201d It would be great if EUR offered both its staff and students a running programme, says De Vries. \u201cIt\u2019s a relatively cheap intervention and it can\u2019t do any harm. Particularly if you have good support, for example from a running therapist.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Read more<\/h2>